Tahera Khimji

 

"I come from Tanzania in East Africa. Back home there is a person who recruits students for SUNY Plattsburgh. They have a surprisingly large international student population there. So, I came to the United States when I was 20 and received my Bachelor's degree in biochemistry. I graduated from Plattsburgh in three and a half years and began a career in the biochem industry which I quickly realized wasn't for me. At that time I was dating someone who was a nursing student at Hunter College, which is how my interest in the field began. Unfortunately he passed away and I returned home to Tanzania unsure of what my plan was. After being home for a bit I realized that I needed to come back to the United States. I had grown so much while I was in New York. The healthcare at home in East Africa, and the opportunities in general, do not compare to what is ava ilable in this country. My boyfriend's death inspired me to look into the nursing program here.

SUNY Adirondack is much more reasonable for me financially as an international student because of my loans.

So I applied and came back in January of 2013. I started by taking the required prerequisites and then was accepted into the program. My best friend's family took me in and it turns out that his grandfather has a hospital in Tanzania. Small world right? I have a second family here now. After I graduate, I'm thinking about applying to be a nurse in the United States Army. We'll see."

Tahera Khimji
Tanzania, Africa
Nursing, Class of 2016
Margaret T. Sherman Memorial Nursing Scholarship

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